Berezkin Analytical Catalogue · Motif
C14 — Monsters destroy people.
Source data for narratives and traditions is drawn from Berezkin’s Analytical Catalogue. If you use this data, please acknowledge and link to it: Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.
Summary of motif
OverviewDuring or on the eve of a global catastrophe (flood, darkness), animals or monsters attack people. (See motif C13A (rebellion of things: animated objects and/or domestic animals threaten people, attack them).)
Berezkin category: Disasters
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part of group 3, Cosmogony, the earth and the sky, etiology of the elements, natural and biological phenomena (fire, water, soil, thunderstorms, dream, etc.), cataclysms and cosmic threats, spirits of nature.
Top 10 motifs with similar dispersal patterns
Phylogeny| Motif | Similarity | Motif summary |
|---|---|---|
| L83 | 97.62% | A character who has only a head left (motif L5) or who has burned his leg (motif L82) turns into lightning/thunder (or emits lightning/thunderclaps). |
| B67 | 96.85% | A fallen tree and/or its stump turns into a mountain (mountain range) or rocks. (Usually, the branches of this tree bear the fruits and shoots of various cultivated plants, see motif G5). |
| G15 | 96.82% | In another world or in the past, products or materials used by humans look or looked like people. |
| J8 | 96.54% | A woman or girl sets out in search of a husband (fiancé, etc.). Bird feathers left on the trail, at a crossroads or near a dwelling mark the right or wrong path. See motif J7. |
| M21A | 96.52% | The character is pursued by an enemy. An animal hides the fugitive in its mouth or on its body, and when the pursuer appears, it refuses to open its mouth or expose part of its body. (Usually simulates illness – toothache, etc.). Cf. motif i87ad. |
| L11 | 96.36% | Everyday objects take the form of fish, invertebrates, reptiles, dangerous predators, or objects that transform into these animals under special circumstances. |
| L26 | 96.20% | During the (first) initiation, supernatural beings teach boys rituals and kill them for violating rules related to the consumption and distribution of food. |
| M121 | 96.20% | A louse or other similar creature (flea, tick, firefly) is sent to follow a certain character. |
| K6 | 95.85% | A vine or rope emerges from tears, snot, urine, saliva, and chewed substance. See motif K1A. |
| M8 | 95.35% | Some characters (not humans) are struggling to break a strong barrier that prevents access to the desired location or to a high-value object. See also M8A - M8D motifs; they are included in the M8 motif in the correlation tables. |
See the 100 most similar distributions →
Map of motif dispersal
DistributionDrag the map to pan, use the scroll wheel to zoom — choose a texture or projection below
Traditions
47 recordedThis motif has been recorded in 47 traditions: Palawan (incl Agutaynen), Kuki, Chiru, Falam (Hallam), Chin (Meitei =Manipuri, Khami, =Kumi), Lakher, Mizo (Lushei), Anal, Pawi (Lai), Purum, Koireng, Milhiem, Kolhen, Mru, Early Chinese written sources, Lepcha, Scandinavians: early written sources ("Edda"; Saxo Grammaticus etc.); Gothland picture stones; Ancient Germans (Late Bronze Age in Scandinavia), Iranian literary tradition (including Avesta, Pahlevi scripts, Sah-nameh, Marzban-nameh); Zoroastrians of Iran, Indian Parsees, Zoroastrianism, Sauk (Sak, Mesquakie), Fox, Kickapoo, Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga), Sarsee (Tsuu T'ina), Wichita; Spiro Mound iconography, Natchez (incl Avoyel), Choctaw, Chicasaw, Maidu, Nisenan, Konkov, Hopi, Zuni, Warihio (Guarijío), Tarahumara, Huichol, Aztec; Aztec and Teotihuacan iconography, Pame, Jonaz (Chichimeca-Jonaz), Mazahua, Otomi, Tojolabal, Chuj, Jacalteca, Kanjobal, Mocho (incl Tuzantec), Acatec, Quiche, Achí, Cakchiquel, Pocomchi, Pocomam, Tepehua, Totonac, Huastec (Teenek), Gulf Nahuatl, Tzotzil, Chol; pre-Columbian Mayan iconography outside of Yucatan, Chorti, Yucatec, Itza, Lacandon, Rama, Guatuso, Guaymi, Bocota, Dorasque; XVI century data on Western Panama, Cuna; XVI century data on Eastern Panama, Kogi (Cagaba), Sanha, Creols of Aritama Valley, Sicuani, Cuiva, Yaruro, Colorado (Tsachila), Mai Huna (Coto, Orejon), Shuar, Achuar (Shiwiar), Chayahuita , Barasana, Taibano, Macuna, Letuama, Tanimuca, Ufaina, Yahuna, Kechua-speaking communities of Apurimac, Cuzco, Arequipa, Puno departments; Spanish sources of XVI-XVII centuries; Callawaya (Kechua with Pukina substratum), Machiguenga, Piro (Yine), Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal), China
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